Q: At Worlds you were bothered by a back injury. How did you recover from it? How is your back now?

A: Well; at Worlds I had a lot of strong pain and we did a lot of
injections and everything and it was really a very hard competition, but
a good experience for me. So afterwards I rested for almost one month
to recover, and it was much better. But it still bothers me sometimes,
especially when we work on the triple Axel and the quad. So even
yesterday I felt very uncomfortable, because the back bothered me again.
But we work a lot on it to make it stronger so hopefully it will get
better.

Q: You are skating to Charlie Chaplin which suits you very well. How did you choose this image? Whose idea was it?

A: We choose it together, me and my coaches which is my father and my
mother. We worked a lot to make it creative, interesting and unique.
It's a difficult challenge to choose something from Hollywood and from
one of the best actors of all times. So it was a hard decision but we
tried to make it come to life. And I think it works pretty well, because
what we did is judged by the audience, by many people and many people
like it and enjoy these programs. We are really happy that so many
people really like it and even when I skated in Finland the crowd was so
crazy. But I don't know how the judges think. I'm not sure if they like
it as much as the audience. So we will see, we will keep working to
improve it.

Q: So how was the feedback you got about your programs in Finland?

A: It was spectacular I think. We tried this new true, new style, a
different program at the first competition. It's lyric, it's different,
it's a lot of play, a lot of emotion. Now people will think about it.
The reaction at the first competition was amazing and it was so loud at
the competition. And we're really happy that the audience received it
that well. That is a success for me. So I'm really happy about that and
as well with the short program. And many ice dancers came to me and said
you have a great (short) program, so enjoyable. As ice dancers do the
Flamenco best, it makes me really happy to get such a feedback from
them.

Q: You decided to use some lyrics in your music and you are ready to
accept a deduction for it. What message do you want to give?

A: It's still a question for us because when we decided to use lyrics it
was our wish for the future of skating. We wanted to create something
different from what other people do. At the time we decided it we
thought a deduction might be ok, because we want to show the old Chaplin
from the 1920s but also the new Chaplin. To make it unique we combined
it. Yes, it is a deduction, but we will see what we do. It is still a
question for us because everyone likes it. But I'm not sure if the
judges will like it. We got the deduction two times, but we still think
about what to do.

Q: The ISU congress decided to allow lyrics in single and pair skating with the 2014/15 season.

A: That's the question! But we decided before the ISU made these new
rules. Rules came up.... why should we change, we're not going to
change. That's why I kept it.

Q: What are your thoughts on the abolishment of the qualifying and the newly established minimum score?

A: We're working on getting that minimum score for the World
Championships. I try to improve every time in competition, to do better
spins, better jumps, more difficulty. But even with improvements the
score was almost the same, sometimes even lower. So it's kind of hard
for us now. We are improving every time, but the score is not improving
so much. And everyone said okay this time you did a better competition,
your elements are better, the artistry is better, but the score is not
going up. So it's hard work, but we will try to do the best to keep
improving.

Q: Earlier in this summer you told us that you are in a little difficult
situation as you have to move around a lot. What is your situation now?
Where do you train?

A: Well! Before I lived in California and I still live in California but
in a different part. It's closer to the next state, in Palm Springs.
This is almost three hours away from Los Angeles. But then we moved to
Los Angeles, the Hollywood area. It was a difficult time for me in the
summer to move, to find a new place, settle down, a new ice rink, a new
place for my parents to work because they are coaches. So there were a
lot of things, but now I settled down and we work hard. I am also taking
acting classes because in the future I want to be an actor and do many
other things. So I'm really happy to be in Los Angeles, in Hollywood to
learn many new things, a better place for practice and maybe a place
that has more opportunities. We will try to improve all the technical
elements in each competition and try to improve the program to get a
higher score, hopefully the score I need for going to championships.

Q: What special challenges do you face being a skater from Uzbekistan, especially with visas and travelling?

A: The challenge for us skaters from small countries is that it is very
difficult to receive a visa in a country that we are not citizens of.
There are so many different competitions worldwide and every embassy or
consulate is also different and has different rules, so sometimes they
are very picky about issuing a visa. Sometimes it depends on your
passport, so sometimes for me with an Uzbekistan passport they are
double checking everything which costs even more time than normal. To
get a visa for competitions always wastes so much time and causes a lot
of problems. But there is nothing we can do now. Hopefully in the future
we will have the chance to get an "Athletes Passport" which will help
World Professional Athletes to get their visas done easier and in short
time. Unfortunately right now it is impossible, because this needs to be
approved worldwide.

Q: What do you plan? Which competitions do you attend this season?

A: After Graz and Poland we have Germany (NRW Trophy) and Four Continents and then if I get score, the World Championships.

Q: What will you change in training and your programs for the competition in Dortmund?

A: There are a few things and little parts we need to redo in both of
our programs. We checked and learned from our last few competitions. We
will try to do as much as we can in two weeks, but time is very short to
make major changes.